Seriously Not Seriously

Clear and warming days do a lot for my sense of clarity, and my productiveness. Seven and eight foot mountains of snow have been decimated in this weather, thus proving that winter really does end in spite of all previous evidence to the contrary.

I’ve been told not to focus on the future, but sometimes the present is discouraging. This is especially true if you want to start on some project or goal, but can’t yet do so. Sometimes you don’t have all the resources you need, you haven’t heard from all necessary parties, and can’t begin no matter how revved up you are to get going.

These are cases where the unknown is my friend, as things often end up much differently from how they presently look. The Trickster is not always the bad guy.

Europe is more heavily on my mind these days. I will be in London again in another month, and I’m discovering doctoral programs in France, England, and Holland that are so precisely in line with my studies, they are difficult to ignore as future possibilities. Not only that, but jobs exist in my subject area, which is shocking. The same old problems remain of what to do with the house, the cats, finding the funds—but there is no need for an immediate solution, as one will present itself if it is “in the cards” for me, as they say.

In the midst of everything I’m working on, I feel like my attempts to brush up in French are sadly lacking. Therefore, I am going to try to do one blog posting a week in French. If I don’t keep up with reading and writing, I’m not going to gain the proficiency that I would like to have. Of course, this will also mean getting software for my Mac that actually recognizes diacritics; the ones on my Macbook do not work for some reason.

But that is all about work, and it is the weekend. I am having difficulty focusing on serious things, so why bother?

Here are some links for the weekend:

Bobcats (from The Oatmeal)

Sneaky Hate Spiral (from Hyperbole and a Half. Not new, but still funny)

Some Kumail Nanjiani standup. He's one of the newer comedians that I think is hilarious.


Did You Read? Another sketch from the Portlandia TV show on IFC.


Jimmy Kimmel combines Charlie Sheen with Charlie Brown (from the Jimmy Kimmel Show)

These are not humorous, but they are entertaining:

Fire waterfall at Yosemite National Park

A review of "The Man Who Collected Machen", which looks like a great horror read.

6 Ways That Crows Are Smarter Than You from Cracked.com. Good thing I only throw breadcrumbs for the crows that nest outside my house.

And, finally--

The first single from Wild Flag, "Glass Tambourine". I will be going to see these ladies on Tuesday in New York.

Enjoy the weekend! I will post again tomorrow. Or not.